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1. ^5 to him for not only fighting back (my personal mantra is "Bash back") but also ^5 on keeping after the police

   He is cute! and yeah yeah I am going to get all superficial for a moment...the cornroles though aren't personaly appealing to me. But hey, I wouldn't turn down a date with him beauce of his having them.

   Posted by: jimmyboyo | Mar 21, 2007 1:55:25 PM

   
   

2. Gosh everybody... let's maybe not get too shitty with each other about the cornrows comments. No one's reducing his assault to comments on grooming. The two issues are totally separate. I thought the cornrows were funny. Maybe some of you didn't. That's okay. The main thing is that he kicked the ass of the phobe who attacked him and insisted that his civil rights be respected by the police. Whether he was wearing a perfect coif, cornrows, or even a weird Peter Frampton shag, that pretty much rocks.

   Posted by: Brian | Mar 21, 2007 2:05:03 PM

   
   

3. I'm constantly shocked every time I hear about a LGBT hate crime in Colorado. I've lived my whole life (granted only 21 years) in the state and currently live in the most conservative county/town (El Paso County/Colorado Springs) in Colorado. I have never once felt my safety is threatened, or had any hesitancy in being completely open abotu my sexual orientation (including flying a pride flag on my apartment balcony). Anti-gay discrimination is common in this town, but actual vitrol homophobic hate seems absent. For hate crimes to be occuring in the states two most liberal town (Boulder, Denver) seems overwhelmingly strange.

   Posted by: Aaron | Mar 21, 2007 2:05:21 PM

   
   

4. No, Brian. The hair isn't even an issue. An obvious enigma to the WASPy aesthetic around here, but not an issue. It wouldn't surprise me if it contributed to the attackers' excuse for violence, though.

   Posted by: 000000 | Mar 21, 2007 2:14:26 PM

   
   

5. It's ok for a lazy cop to be a lazy cop???? that's just to stupid to consider credible.

   After having only one "minor" bashing incident in my time -which ended up being entirely verbal when I stepped toward my 2 would be attackers in a very aggressive manner and they backed down, I say good on you Nima and your cornrows!

   Posted by: hoya86 | Mar 21, 2007 2:24:35 PM

   
   

6. Mike: I, too, share in your discomfort about resorting to violence. I tend to view violence as, more often than not, inappropriate. I have to consider, however, what Mr. Daivari and the witnesses said happened...he responded verbally to the hateful comment and was hit by the assailant. Mr. Daivari did not initiate the violence. He appears to have challenged hate speech with speech. I'm enough of an Augustinian to recognize a just act of force (a line of thinking that wasn't employed four years ago).

   It's interesting that Mr. Daivari did not pummel the attacker to the ground. Instead he used enough force to stop the attack and restrained the assailant. I probably would have lost my cool (assuming I could even get a hit in) and beat the fucker senseless. Then, I'd be the one in jail.

   I'm always interested in whether a state has sexual orientation in its hate crimes legislation and Colorado does. Here is an article about the increase in hate crimes, though in the Rocky Mountain State: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/mar/18/hate-hard-to-prove/

   Posted by: JT | Mar 21, 2007 2:31:26 PM

   
   

7. Get off your fucking high horse, everyone. If there was any homophobia in the cop's action, I can assure you that the DPD will drum his ass out in no time.

   But do you have any idea the number of drunken brawls cops have to deal with on the average night? Especially in a nightlife-heavy place like LoDo? Like I said before, if homophobia played a role in the cop's actions, he should be severly reprimanded (if not canned). If he disobeyed department procedures by not immediately filing a report, again, he should be reprimanded (which, it would appear, has already happened).

   In the end, however, I know just how difficult a job most cops have. And while we should never tolerate laziness or homophobia, I'm inclined to cut the guy some slack until we know all the facts surrounding this incident.

   But some of you would apparently prefer to use this incident to score political points. It's your right, I s'pose.

   Posted by: Dan | Mar 21, 2007 2:45:54 PM

   
   

8. While I think it's great that he managed to beat up the guy. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

   Who knows what the officer encountered when he got there. If you've watched Cops at all, you know that when officers arrive on a scene there will be conflicting reports and general all around confusion. It could be in this case the officer was left with He Said/He Said and no way to determine who really instigated what.

   Easy enough to say that an officer should do his job, but that's not always cut and dry. Sometimes they consider matters a civil dispute and let it go at that rather than push things through the legal system.
   (If you disagree with this, then I hope you never let an officer let you off with a warning for speeding. Hypocrite.)

   Besides, I don't think our gay hero endeared himself to anyone much with the "I'm a law student" schtickt.

   
   

   Posted by: Frozen North | Mar 21, 2007 2:54:19 PM

   
   

9. Another thing to keep in mind here (before we wind up idolizing this guy). Most law schools have a code of conduct that applies to students both on and off the campus. If his law school discovered that he was involved in a fight like this, it could have consequences for him back at school. Unless, of course, he was the victim of a vicious, homophobic attack...

   My point is - who the hell knows what happened there. From what I can tell, the DPD is doing a good job of investigating this.

   This isn't to say that I disagree with publicizing this incident. I think this blog is probably doing the right thing by encouraging vigilance when it comes to potential homophobia. Some people in the peanut gallery, however, can't seem to distinguish between vigilance and hysteria.

   Posted by: Dan | Mar 21, 2007 3:20:59 PM

   
   

10. had this situation culminated in another andrew anthos result, would some of you still be remarking about the victim's appearance and poking fun whether directly or indirectly? there's a war goin' on out there whether you wish to see it or not.

    Posted by: sean | Mar 21, 2007 3:30:39 PM

    
    

11. Daivari very clearly articulated in his letter the events that transpired so are you calling him a liar Frozen North? Or are you waiting for the policeman to give a conflicting report to do so? It seems pretty unlikely the Daivari would go through all of that effort that night and the following morning if he was somehow at fault or " overreacting" as you and Dan seem to be implying.

    Posted by: Giovanni | Mar 21, 2007 3:45:31 PM

    
    

12. And still the blame/doubt the victim comments keep flowing, like soft shit from a baby's diaper. We're not talking about a middle-of-the-night noise complaint, people. A fight happened. The cop refused to arrest the accused [it's NOT the cop's job to judge guilt/innocence; if the job's too hard, quit] despite the repeated insistence of the complainant. Despite the implications for police of "citizen arrest" laws. Why is the internal affairs department investigating the incident if there's so much to question? And, most of all, given the history of gay bashings in the US, why would any gay poster so cavalierly give the benefit of the doubt to the cop and the accused?

    Posted by: Leland | Mar 21, 2007 4:26:25 PM

    
    

13. Again, proving that gays need to stop acting like a lisping, weak victims. We should heed Kramer's call and be strong and militant about our place in the world.

    Posted by: Art Landis | Mar 21, 2007 5:51:09 PM

    
    

14. Go Nima! He did everything right. You taught these anti-gay people a lesson. I'm saving this account as a guide for what I might have to do if anything happens to me. Nima you are great; I send my love.

    Posted by: Jack! | Mar 21, 2007 5:56:08 PM

    
    

15. wow leland and I can find common ground, wonders of wonders

    leland said "Why is the internal affairs department investigating the incident if there's so much to question? And, most of all, given the history of gay bashings in the US, why would any gay poster so cavalierly give the benefit of the doubt to the cop and the accused?"

    History of gay basjing....hello history in general.

    This person is young, of color, gay, and probably not overflowing with trust fund money.

    History in general has shown us countless times what police think and do when such are the victims.

    Now if the kid was rich, white, straight, etc you better believe the police would have reacted split quick.

    Eough with the blaming the victim crap

    History has proven beyond all shadow of doubt that in a case such as this the police do not/will not react as they should
    

    Posted by: jimmyboyo | Mar 21, 2007 6:03:42 PM

    
    

16. sorry for the typos

    Posted by: jimmyboyo | Mar 21, 2007 6:05:22 PM

    
    

17. To clarify:

    a) he should have ignored the guy. it's what we teach our kids, live by example. sticks-and-stones no?

    b) since he was attacked first (sticks), hurray to him for defending himself

    c) justice isn't always clean cut - maybe the other guy said the "fag" made a pass and when he got turned down he attacked, and the guy had to defend himself (statement supported by his girlfriend) Now who has a police record for a shakey incident? Perhaps the cop just thought, you got your revenge, good enough, since I got two conflicting reports. (GTG, there's someone breaking into a nursing home!)

    As for the whole, Blame-the-victim schpeel, spare me. Let's look at the Duke rape case for example. Everyone sided with the "victim" who turned out not to be a victim at all. Unbiased judgement is the corner stone of our system. Too bad people always forget that.
    

    Posted by: Frozen North | Mar 21, 2007 6:22:32 PM

    
    

18. Frozen North, you'd more accurately call yourself "Brain Freeze." The "system" you refer to is what is supposed to happen in COURT. However, the cop was playing judge and jury. As he did not witness the chain of events, he was wrong to do that even if it turns out Daivari struck first. I don't know what your agenda is, but what else can one expect from someone who studied law at the University of "Cops"? Bad boy. Bad boy.

    Posted by: Leland | Mar 21, 2007 6:30:39 PM

    
    

19. Frozen North: Seriously, do you have kids? I believe that men like Zeke, who actually have kids are the ones who teach kids. Secondly, it doesn't matter who did what to whom...a complaint was made. The officer should have taken down the facts...at least the freaking names! For crying out loud, you can't be serious that decisions regarding what constitutes crimes should be left to the beat cops.

    Comparing this to the Duke LaCrosse case is like comparing apples to condominiums.

    Posted by: JT | Mar 21, 2007 7:13:45 PM

    
    

20. If someone randomly called me a faggot, I'd probably react in the same way Daivari reacted. Good for him for standing up for himself. We should ALL react the same way and show these bashers that they can't push us around.

    Posted by: peterparker | Mar 21, 2007 8:01:53 PM

    
    

21. We really do need to start standing up for ourselves. This is a perfect example. [...] We are stronger than the homophobes think.
    Posted by: MT | Mar 21, 2007 12:18:44 PM

    Amen!

    This is exactely what Larry Kramer's letter was about, it was about instances like these.

    The gay community has to stop apologizing for existing. Sharpen your vocabulary, prepare your globes, and prepare to attack back.

    Sometimes you have to be willing to attack those who are after you, physically, verbally, legally, instituionally - as it's the only thing that will instill fear on them.

    Cause make no mistake about it: our haters are terrified of us!! and they'll try to test us in several ways to see how we'll react; if you prove to them you'll let them walk all over you and accept crumbs, then they'll keep on doing it.

    But if you attack right back, and they'll not only show you respect, but they'll also want to be an ally with you. That's the sad truth about the human species, they want to be on the side of those who are tough.

    So we gotta learn to be a community which speaks up and stands up for themselves!!

    Posted by: Da | Mar 21, 2007 11:10:34 PM

    
    

22. I assume nothing. I took a break from reading a book to my 12 year old son to send an e-mail to the independent office responsible for complaints at the Denver PD. I made three quick points: everyone deserves equal treatment, regardless of their sexual orientation, (duh), this is in no way an issue that is only of concern for gay people, and that the way this case is handled will have serious economic repercussions for the city and the state. People need to understand that millions of straight Americans are sick and tired of the fucked up right wingers and the fundamentalist Christian's efforts to use anti gay hate to hold on to political power. Progressive Americans need to hold decision makers, in and out of government, accountable for their choices. Anti gay hate needs to be punished, politically, socially, and economically. The future belongs to us! Young people everywhere are rejecting the hate mongers. WE need to be willing to fight, and to be ready to build coalitions across the issues that divide us, focusing on the values that we share.

    Posted by: Cold in wisconsin | Mar 22, 2007 12:09:24 AM

    
    

23. I think the statements of Dan and possibly Frozen North actually make the police look even worse. The implication is that their job is tough so... they shouldn't be held accountable for not doing it? Wha!!?? Is this really what they teach police officers? If so then the state of law enforcement in this country must be thouroughly dispicable. However, I actually would like to believe that the people who are responsible for the safety of the public are supposed to do there jobs and not shrug off their obligations simply because they are apathetic or under pressure. If you didn't already know assault is a crime. If the local police take it serioursly and prosecute those crimes guess what happens? People stop breaking the law and committing assualt in larger numbers because they think they can get away with it and the police shuck their responsibility to do their job? Wow. Insane. Police doing their job. Being held responsible for the enormous amount of authority they are given. I just can't comprehend this. It's mindblowing. Oh wait, I forgot. You can't hold a police officer accountable for anything they are responsible for doing.

    Posted by: JLuv | Mar 22, 2007 1:48:26 AM

    
    

24. While I can't respond to everything, I hope I can address a few concerns/comments (yes, I know we should all take a page from the Obama camp and not worry about addressing every single thing that's said, but what the hell, I'll give it a whirl)

    1. After hearing my attacker say "Keep that faggot away from me" all I said was "Excuse me?". It was half out of pure shock and half to make someone who says something like that look me in the face and say something like that. I was not looking for a fight. I had 1.5 glasses of wine with dinner over the course of an hour (point being I wasn't drunk), I've never been in a fight in my life, and I really thought it would be an exchange of words with me chiding the fucker for being such a douche bag.

    2. I told Officer Boehlin that I was a second year law student only after i told him three times to arrest my attacker. I am not yet a lawyer so I did not want to claim to be one, but I wanted him to know that I wasn't joking. I really do know my rights and when one strikes another, the victim has the right to retaliate. It's called self-defense and the first aggressor does not receive immunity for the ensuing fight. I put him in a headlock because I am not an animal. I was not going to pummel this guy just because I could. Further, self-defense only works to the extent necessary to stop the attack. Then you either have to stop or flee. I was not going to flee, I was going to hold him until help arrived.

    3. In hindsight, yes, I should have struck the female as well. She did more damage than the male, however I have never struck a female and during the 15 seconds or so that the incident went on, in my mind I went back and forth a million times on whether or not I could bring myself to strike a female.

    4. Eat shit, I love my cornrolls and so do many people. Even if no one loved them, I should hope it's evident by now that I don't care what people think. I do what I like and that includes cornrolls and necklaces with fairies on them and whatever the hell else I please.

    5. My school does not have a policy that prevents me from defending myself during a physical attack.

    6. My cousin and her boyfriend were in shock and towards the end began to restrain the woman. My cousin is a female and was very shaken up. Her boyfriend has three kids and doesn't need to go to jail. I was handling my attacker and they had started to restrain the female attacker when the cops arrived. Keep in mind a fight is not like the movies, it's not over the course of 10 minutes with great camera angles and music. It was like 15 seconds of physical violence. I simply reacted more quickly; they reacted upon registering what had happened.

    7. The Duke LaCrosse analogy is so obscene it doesn't warrant a response.

    8. To those that feel it may have been too time consuming/not worth it for the officers to file a report: at the very very very least, an officer takes down names after an incident and runs the names for wants and warrants. Officer Boehlin and his partner failed to even do that. Had they done so, we'd at least have some names.

    9. The rest of the DPD have been great. True they're probably just covering their asses for a royal fuck up, but they have been nothing but courteous and professional. Boehlin, as an agent of the police department, just fucked up royally. ROYALLY.

    10. This went down at an outdoor mall. It's not a he said/she said situation. There were about 40+ witnesses to the event.

    11. I don't think of Denver as a hateful place. This type of shit happens everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I am making a stink because most people do not. This is how these crimes get swept under the rug. If everyone spoke out, things like this would happen less.

    12. My eyebrows are fierce.

    13. You challenge homophobia when you encounter homophobia. There is no appropriate time or place or forum because homophobia is never appropriate.

    14. Who the heck is Kramer?

    15. I'm exhausted and will likely not respond to any further attacks. You can send any direct messages to my MySpace, otherwise, peace and love to those of you with brains. Acne and backhair to haters. Also haters, what the fuck is wrong with you? Can we at the very least band together to fight homophobia? Fuckin hell, you already don't date asians or blacks or fatties or baldies, only like muscle boys, only like smooth boys, want a rich man, don't wanna commit, love your crystal meth, blah blah blah. An ounce of support would be nice since we're fighting the same fight.

    Posted by: Nima Daivari | Mar 22, 2007 1:59:27 AM

    
    

25. Esq., sue the pigs, too. As for the sow, next time, more lipstick, please.

    Posted by: Roland | Mar 22, 2007 2:05:40 AM

    
    
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